Pokagon

Waterfront restaurants are as prevalent as homemade pie in the northeast corner of Indiana, thanks to Steuben County’s impressive menu of 101 lakes. Meals of aged steaks and flown-in seafood fuel visitors for swimming, hiking and sight-seeing adventures. It’s time to fill up and explore!

The eight restaurants on the trail offer a diverse variety of options for all diners. Caruso’s, which opened in 1976, is a three-generation family run business. Menu items include pizza, pasta, sausage rolls, paninis and their famous breadsticks. Clay’s Family Restaurant offers home style cooking, along with a weekend breakfast buffet. They’re well-known for their pies and nearly 20 different varieties are on the menu, including the popular Oops! Pie, smothered in pecans and chocolate chips.

Mad Anthony’s Lakeview Alehouse, a laid-back pub, sits on the edge of Lake James and has summer outdoor seating. Brewpub menu items include pub chips, ultimate nachos, burgers and the ‘unwraps,’ a 10-inch wafer thin crust baked with gourmet toppings. Don’t forget the craft beer! Captain’s Cabin overlooks Crooked Lake and is well-known for surf and turf. For a more casual night, head downstairs for a breaded shrimp or chicken basket.

The setting for Timbuktoo’s in Fremont is a log-cabin. The menu features a wide range of seafood plus steaks, chicken sandwiches and build-your-own burgers. The Lakeview Grille is located inside the Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon State Park. An outstanding Sunday brunch buffet plus a full menu of aged steaks, fish and burgers make for a relaxing meal inside the historic Inn.

At The Hatchery just one block southwest of the Soldier’s Monument in downtown Angola, you’ll find hand-cut steaks, ribs and salads plus a casual outside deck, while nearby Timbers Steakhouse and Seafood has five varieties of steak, ranging from an eight-ounce ribeye to a 20-ounce porterhouse. Breakfast is served until 2 p.m.

Come explore these eight unique restaurants and leave time for some of our many diversions, including Pokagon State Park, wineries, buffalo preserve and nature trails. In the winter, the state’s only refrigerated toboggan operates at the state park.